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RE: Understanding the Subconscious #1: Introduction - Seeing It First Hand

in #psychology7 years ago

It's funny how many people are actually terrified at the very thought of subconscious mind even being there. Some people, when they think of it, they imagine some sinister thing controlling their life. Its relative independence from the conscious mind means that they have no control over it. Instead of wanting to learn how to communicate and access the subconscious, they pretend it is not there.

Thought you might dig the following quote:

One of the greatest of all fallacies about the practice of ritual magic is the notion that one must believe in the powers of magic before one can be harmed or destroyed by them. Nothing could be farther from the truth, as the most receptive victims of curses have always been the greatest scoffers. The reason is frighteningly simple. The uncivilized tribesman is the first to run to his nearest witch-doctor or shaman when he feels a curse has been placed upon him by an enemy. The threat and presence of harm is with him consciously, and belief in the power of the curse is so strong that he will take every precaution against it. Thus, through the application of sympathetic magic, he will counteract any harm that might come his way. This man is watching his step, and not taking any chances.

On the other hand, the "enlightened" man, who doesn't place any stock in such "superstition", relegates his instinctive fear of the curse to his unconscious, thereby nourishing it into a phenomenally destructive force that will multiply with each succeeding misfortune. Of course, every time a new setback occurs, the non-believer will automatically deny any connection with the curse, especially to himself. The emphatic conscious denial of the potential of the curse is the very ingredient that will create its success, through setting-up of accident prone situations. In many instances, the victim will deny any magical significance to his fate, even unto his dying gasp...

Anon LaVey, The Satanic Bible

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That's a good quote, I do like it! It reminds me of the anecdote about Niels Bohr and a horseshoe.

A visitor commented to Niels Bohr, the famous atom scientist and Nobel prize winner:
Visitor—I’m surprised to see that you have a horseshoe hanging over your door. Do you, a sober man dedicated to science, believe in that superstition?
Bohr—Of course not, but I’ve been told it’s supposed to be lucky whether you believe in it or not.